Snow Anchor
Snow Anchor, the Town: Snow Anchor is a town in rural eastern Bruhinn, in the province of Glossen. It is the site of the famous Snow Anchor, an enormous whiterock relic from the ante axum period. The town is named for the relic. It is also the site of Snow Anchor Palace, the Lothaen family summer home. The town serves the royal palace and pilgrims who come to lay their hands on the giant Anchor. In Book 1, the town of Snow Anchor falls to ga'arg and becomes a powerful woespawn. The town is roughly inspired by the French town of Versailles, which emerged to service the Chateau of Versailles. Snow Anchor, the Relic: The Snow Anchor is literally a giant ship's anchor, mysteriously sitting on the grass, hundreds of miles from the nearest large body of water. It predates all known history, and its origin is unknown. The Snow Anchor rests in a tilted, upright position and is unbelievably massive. Exact dimensions are not specified, but it is taller than the tallest tower in town, and it is said to weigh "more than a castle." The width of the flukes alone is more than twice the height of a person. The Anchor is made of pure whiterock, a rare, immutable, porcelain-smooth stone of unknown magical origin. No known lever, crane, or device ever made by kin is capable of moving it. Weather does not erode the surface, which stays impossibly slick and smooth, no matter what. Despite its incalculable mass, the Anchor does not sink into the ground. Shortly before the Myriad, Queen Verilaine the Fae tried to move the Anchor to Thraehir, but her engineers failed to make it budge. The Anchor rests in the center of town, in a well-tended grass circle. The Thlossian Chapel of Meadowlarks, the largest chapel in Glossen, faces the Anchor. Streets radiate outward in all directions from the circle, leading to all parts of town. The Palace of Snow Anchor is several blocks to the west, within easy walking distance. The origin of the Snow Anchor is a popular topic in Bruhinn. There is no logical reason for a ship's anchor to be so far inland. Nor is there any reason to build an anchor out of such a dense, heavy, and rare stone. There is also no reason for an anchor to be so enormous. If keeping to proportion, the accompanying ship would have been the size of a city, yet no such ship has ever been found. The most common story is that the Snow Anchor belonged to the mythical airship Aileron, a flying city that was lost in the clouds, long before Water's Age. The Snow Anchor is well-known worldwide and is considered one of the unexplained wonders of the world. It is actually the second most famous whiterock novelty in Bruhinn -- second to the Spire of Cloudport. It attracts pilgrims from distant lands who seek to lay hands upon the smooth white stone. Some people report minor visions or hallucinations upon doing so. In Book 1, it is revealed that the Snow Anchor is one of the most powerful raistinmaeren (dreamgates) in the world. When Mikoa touches it, it opens a gaping rift to the Between, causing the largest flood of woe in recorded history and allowing Mikoa to meet Nazagorn. The banished Forgotten God Sinthrall enters Landfall through this fissure.